


The Night Shift

by Inyri



Category: Le nozze di Figaro | The Marriage of Figaro - Mozart/Da Ponte, Opera, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Евгений Онегин | Eugene Onegin - Aleksandr Pushkin
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-20
Updated: 2015-05-20
Packaged: 2018-03-31 09:13:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3972361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inyri/pseuds/Inyri
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ensign Tatiana Larin works the night shift in Sickbay and there's one patient that always seems to find a way to injure himself just enough to be sent to Sickbay</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Night Shift

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a Star Trek AU post on Tumblr and written for that-feminist-soprano (Tumblr)

Ensign Tatiana Larin massaged a crick out of the back of her neck as she swiveled in the office chair, wondering how long she’d be able to do these overnight shifts in Sickbay without falling apart physically or succumbing to an acute form of sleep-deprived insanity. She looked at the clock and sighed. It was only oh-five-hundred. Two more hours to go. 

She heard the door swish open and bit back yet another sigh. Who could possibly need her help so early in the morning? She turned to see who had come in and was surprised, and yet not surprised, to see it was the cute, accident-prone cadet who worked the overnight in Engineering. He came in at least once a week with some minor injury. It seemed that this week was no exception. 

“Hello?” he called, his voice echoing in the empty Sickbay. He looked rather lost and small in the unoccupied bay, clutching his arm to his chest. Tatiana shook her head and left the office to join him in the main room. 

“Can I help you?” she asked politely. 

His gaze found her immediately and his brown eyes lit up at the sight of her. She felt a blush creeping up her face. 

“I was hoping you’d be the one here,” he said with an honest smile that glared too brightly considering he was injured. 

“Yes, I’m the one here,” she answered in a matter-of-fact tone, feeling a bit dull for not having anything better to say. He always managed to make her brain move a bit slower despite her best efforts to seem clever. 

Then, remembering that he was injured, she looked at the arm he was holding and said hurriedly, 

“Come, sit down. Let me look at that.” 

He obeyed, hopping upon one of the exam beds and sitting there quietly, watching her. She felt his gaze even when her back was turned to get her medical tricorder. His brazen gazing was one of the first things she’d noticed about him. That and his handsome face. But that was another thing entirely. 

She flipped open her tricorder and approached him, keeping her gaze down on the device as she asked softly, 

“Can you tell me what happened?” 

“Well,” he started, his voice too loud and too energetic for oh-five-hundred, “one minute I was repairing the couplers and the next, plasma is everywhere. I burned my arm on it before I could contain the spill.” 

The tricorder was reading the same thing: minor plasma burns. It was an easy fix. 

“I’ll have you fixed up in a moment,” Tatiana murmured, her gaze still fixed on the tricorder reading even though she’d already memorized what it said. 

He leaned down and over so he could look into her face. Tatiana’s medical training kicked in and she put a hand on his shoulder without thinking, pushing him back into a seated position. 

“Try to stay still,” she said. Then, realizing what she’d done, she faltered and the blush that had started a few minutes before bloomed full-blown on her face. She didn’t meet his gaze even though she felt it boring into the top of her head. She felt petite and fragile under his scrutiny. 

“I don’t mean to criticize,” he began, his tone friendly, “but you could work a little on your bedside manner.” 

“And you could be more careful,” she replied. 

She froze, astonished at her own gall. What had possessed her to let that slip out? She couldn’t begin to guess. 

“Ah,” he said slowly. “So you do have some feistiness under that shy act.” 

She wanted to point out that it wasn’t an act, but her tongue was still frozen from shock. So instead, she turned away to retrieve the dermal regenerator. 

“Roll up your sleeve, please,” she said, setting down her tricorder. “This will only take a moment.” 

She was still turned away when he said, 

“You’re very pretty, you know.” 

Her hand stopped midway to the regenerator. Had he really just said what she’d thought he’d said or was she imagining things? 

Slowly, she turned to face him. 

“Now, Cadet D’Astorga, this is no place for--” 

Call me Cherubino,” he interrupted. 

“What?” 

“Cherubino. It’s what all my friends call me. It’s an academy thing.” 

Tatiana just blinked. 

Then, regaining herself, she turned away again and this time she actually picked up the dermal regenerator. 

“We’re friends?” she asked quietly. 

“Sure,” he answered confidently. “You do patch me up rather often. So we’ve spent plenty of time together.” 

“I’m not sure that counts,” she said, turning her nurse mode on again and approaching him on the biobed. He held out his burned arm for her, his sleeve rolled halfway up his bicep to expose his burned forearm. “You hardly know anything about me.” 

“I know your name, for starters,” he said as she examined the injury. “You’re Ensign Tatiana Larin and the Enterprise is your second post after graduating the academy.” 

The unexpected gentleness and affection with which he said her name made her blush all over again. She wanted to berate herself for being so foolish, but she couldn’t bring herself to care enough. 

“That’s a start, Cadet,” she commented. 

“ _Cherubino,_ ” he insisted, wincing when her finger accidentally brushed the burned part of his arm. 

“I’m sorry,” she said quickly. “Does it hurt much?” 

“Nothing I can’t handle,” he answered with bravado. 

“Okay, well hold still and it won’t hurt for much longer,” she said, switching on the regenerator. 

For once, he sat still and silent as she ran the beam over his injury. The quiet of the Sickbay felt heavy, significant somehow, but Tatiana found she rather liked it. It felt full of possibility-- of change on the horizon. 

She passed the regenerator over his arm one last time before announcing, 

“Good as new.” 

“At least until I do something else to it,” he commented teasingly. “Thank you.” 

She finally met his gaze and the intensity of his look took her aback. Unable to hold his gaze, she found herself staring at the slope of his almost-feminine nose. 

“You’re welcome,” she replied automatically. 

He smiled at her, broad and hopeful, and then he asked, 

“Would you get a drink with me sometime? Just Ten Forward, nothing fancy. Then I can learn more than your name and your service record.” 

Tatiana hesitated. She very much wanted to say yes, but was it technically fraternization? Sure, no one was there to see it and a drink in Ten Forward was completely innocent… 

Before she could decide, the door to Sickbay opened and they both jumped at the sound. Tatiana recognized the shock of red hair immediately and every muscle in her body tensed up at once. 

“Dr. Crusher,” she all but stuttered. “Can I help you with something?” 

The chief medical officer must have noticed Tatiana’s strange reaction because she smiled and said, 

“At ease, Ensign. I’m just here to get a few things done before my shift.” 

“Of course, Doctor,” Tatiana said, fighting back yet another blush. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw the cadet smirking. 

Dr. Crusher disappeared into her office and Tatiana turned back to her patient. 

“Now,” Tatiana started, gathering her thoughts together again, “must I give you the ‘be more careful next time’ speech again?” 

“No, sir,” he answered with mock deference. 

“I outrank you,” she reminded him, “and this is an order: be more careful.” Tatiana tried to say it seriously but he was flashing a shit-eating grin and she couldn’t keep a small smile from quirking up one side of her lips. 

“I’ll do my best, _Ensign_ ,” he said, holding up two fingers. “Cadet’s honor.” 

“Thank you.” 

“So, am I fit for duty?” he asked and Tatiana couldn’t help but wonder if she’d imagined the suggestive tone in his voice. She turned away to grab a PADD. 

“Yes,” she said softly, “you are able to return to your post.” 

He hopped off the exam bed, automatically straightening his uniform and running a hand through his floppy hair. 

“So,” he started, “have you decided?” 

At this, Tatiana looked up at him. 

“Decided?” she echoed. 

“About Ten Forward.” 

“I’m not sure--” 

“It’s alright,” he interrupted. “But if you change your mind, you’ll let me know? I’d be honored to have a drink with such a pretty and accomplished girl.” 

Tatiana didn’t answer. The cadet took one more moment to stand there, kicking an invisible object just once, and then he left. 

Once he’d gone, Tatiana felt her body relax ever so slightly but her heart was still beating feverishly. She turned back to the PADD in an attempt to distract herself. 

“Another incident report for Cadet D’Astorga?” Dr. Crusher’s voice came from nearby, jolting Tatiana from her thoughts. 

“Yes,” she answered quickly. 

Crusher smiled kindly at the younger girl, pausing a beat before she asked, 

“But the real question is: when are you going to do more than write up incident reports about him?”


End file.
